If you ask Kristine MacDonald to recall her decade-old memories, she’d go back to when she first started smithing.
Back then, MacDonald was taking a silversmithing course at the city centre. Getting to work with more types of metal, she soon fell in love with the soft texture in copper. Now she wants everything she smiths to shine in that bronze tone.
Gathering inspirations from Alberta’s nature, MacDonald engraves as many prairie-related symbols as she could on her jewellery pieces. From wildlife-shaped pendants to the Harvest Moon Alberta Necklace, you’d find the familiar mountain and river delicately portrayed on soft copper. Recently, MacDonald also enjoys copper enamelling with more colours.
“I try to make smithing as creative as I can,” says MacDonald. She still works from her grandma’s enamelling kiln from the ‘70s. “My favourite part of coppersmithing with prairie elements is to remind myself of the beauty of nature, even when I spend most of the time in the city.”
The experienced copper professional returns at the Royal Bison fair and the Edmonton Christmas Market this winter, where she brings her most recent jewellery pieces, including the Festive Copper Rings.
Shop handmade copper and enamel jewellery at Smithstine. Also find MacDonald’s notes for how to take care of copper if you’d like to keep it fresh.
This content was produced to support the Edmonton Made community. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Edify staff.
